You Only Loved The Version Of Me That Needed Nothing Chapter 02

You Only Loved The Version Of Me That Needed Nothing Chapter 02

Riverton welcomed me the only way it knew how — with rain.

Chloe picked me up and took us straight to the kind of dive bar we used to swear we’d outgrow near our old high school. Her version of nostalgia.

Old places, old faces. It should’ve felt easier.

Three years hadn’t changed Julian. His gaze skimmed my face briefly — quick, effortless — like he was checking a clock he’d already glanced at.

No hesitation, no weight behind it — just the faintest smile, perfectly casual. “Look who’s back. I was starting to think you’d moved out there for good.”

His tone was too smooth. Not the voice of a man seeing his ex for the first time in three years. It sounded like he’d run into someone he barely remembered.

“You here by yourself?” He tipped his chin toward the room behind him. “I’m having drinks with some people. Grab a chair if you want.”

“No.” We were adults. There was no reason to make this weird.

I kept my smile light, distant. “I’m meeting someone. Maybe some other time.”

“Sure.” He didn’t push.

He stepped aside to let me pass. And then, like it was nothing — like it was a promise neither of us planned to keep —

“Next time.”

I walked past him and kept going, down the corridor toward the back booth.

Most of the food was already on the table. Chloe was picking at a basket of fries, half of one tucked into her cheek.

“What took you so long?”

“Ran into someone I knew. Just said hi.”